Reading Graphic Organizers Comprehension Rachel Zegas January 17

Reading + Graphic Organizers Comprehension Rachel Zegas January 17, 2011

High School and Reading • Problem 1: Being in high school does not mean one can read – Reading does not just mean sounding out words! • Problem 2: High school teachers are trained in content specific knowledge and not reading – This is compounded by intense curricular demands

Traditional Reading Strategies • Outline • Highlight

Outlines vs. GOs • Outlines – “…have linear format that discourages learning relationships among concepts. ” (Robinson and Kiewra 1995) • GOs – “…use a spatial format to convey concept relations. ”

Highlighting vs. GOs • Highlighting – “…when students do not actively think about what they are reading and they highlight material that is unimportant, little comprehension of the material occurs. ” (Montoya and Kreiner 2010) (Gregory and Parry 2006) • GOs – “…enable students to organize data into segments or chunks that they can comprehend and manage. ” This does not mean never highlight, but do it correctly.

Why Do GOs Work? • Both the right and left hemispheres of the brain are active

Why Do GOs Work? • Try to memorize the string of numbers below - you will have 5 seconds • What was the number? 201181217761945 1812 1776 1945 • Was this easier? Man is a chunker!

Categories of GOs • • • Sequence Problem/Solution Compare/Contrast Description Cause/Effect Please see “Graphically Organized Reading Notes” and Tradepost for samples. There are countless types of GOs and numerous ways to categorize them. You need to decide what works best for each assignment.

Sequence Date 1492 Event Columbus sailed the ocean blue!

Description Who What How Main Idea Where Why When

Cause/Effect Cause Effect/Cause Effect

Problem/Solution Problem What Why Solution Attempted Solution 1. 2. Desired Solution Steps Being Taken Results 1. 2. End Result

Compare/Contrast Apples Differences Oranges Differences Warm-Blooded Cold-Blooded Animals Similarities

Picking the Right GO • Step 1: Read the text • Step 2: Reread, note what you want students to recognize • Step 3: Compare notes to GOs and select the best fit • Step 4: Structure the GO to be specific to your text • Step 5: Review GO with students

The Best Fit • • Biography - Time Line Vocabulary - Word Map/Web Maps - Main Ideas/Details (Quad) Graphs - Venn Diagram, Y Chart Historical Ref - Case and Effect Fiction - Fishbone, Story Map Newspaper Article - 5 Ws Pyramid

Sample • “‘I Hate School’ Extreme Edition” (The Wall Street Journal)

Sum It Up • “Graphic organizers are effective tools for supporting thinking and learning in four major ways: (1) abstract information is represented in a concrete format, (2) relationships between facts and concepts are depicted, (3) new information is connected to previous knowledge, and (4) thoughts are organized for writing and for problem solving. ” (Ronis 2006)

Your Task • You are going to select a reading that a GO will enhance • Create a GO for the reading based on the information you want your students to learn • At the end of the session everyone will come back and share what they have created